Bunny Loves Beans

Bunny Loves Beans is another sweet title for our youngest readers from author Jane Whittingham (Bear Has a Belly www.cmreviews.ca/node/3079), this time featuring animals and the colourful food they enjoy… that we like too! Whittingham’s board books feature colourful photographs of animals and children, all enjoying a rainbow of produce. The attractive images and catchy text are certain to pique the interest of even the most discerning eaters among us.

Whittingham does a convincing job of inviting readers into community with animals who munch, crunch and nibble alongside. The use of language is age-appropriate yet poetic in describing the textures and qualities encountered when we eat certain things. Caregivers might enjoy borrowing Whittingham’s language in moving their own eating dialogues away from praise and toward descriptions of the food itself (e.g. “The broccoli is crunchy, leafy and a little bit salty tonight. Would you like to try it?”).

I found the use of colour words a touch confusing overall. It seemed like connecting food – to colour – to animal – to child, was a bit abstract. Perhaps simply using the food name, in addition to the colour, might have alleviated that lingering confusion. Regardless, young readers will likely enjoy Whittingham’s latest work, and families will benefit in expanding their mealtime vocabularies.